Wednesday, January 2, 2013

How Bob Thiel 'Proved' LCG is the True Church (and that he is not)

Bob Thiel has done exactly what he has long condemned every other COG of doing, refusing to 'see' that God is working with LCG led by Roderick Meredith and thus unnecessarily dividing Armstrongites among themselves.

No doubt he will try to obscure, minimize and essentially whitewash his previous allegiance with LCG. Therefore it is necessary to state now that in times past the whole point of his blog was to persuade people to join LCG.

Practically every article, every post of his called for people to join LCG, that it was where God was working among humanity.

He wrote several articles detailing distinctive features of various COGs. These articles all concluded that they failed to fulfill the aims of God compared to LCG and therefore they are not to be followed and one God is working through LCG.

One argument he used is that the true Church of God should be growing greatly. Having many converts is fruit revealing where God is working now.

If one assumes this then one would have to assume that the true COG would have to be one of the more larger ones.

Because he had LCG behind him I was much more inclined to listen to him when I looked for information about the COGs in mid-2000 and agree with his assertion that LCG is the true COG.

LCG was one of the big three (this was before COGAWA started) so it seemed quite reasonable to me that the true COG had to be one of them.

I rejected PCG. Their doctrines about the Little Book seemed too strange to me. It was quite apparent to me that they had changed things a bit, added new ideas that seemed quite strange to my reading of Armstrongism, then based on LCG's writings, Bob Thiel's writings and whatever I could read from HWA. Also I heard about how PCG forced members to have no contact with former WCG members. That disgusted me so I decided PCG was no good and I rejected them.

Then there was UCG. They were by far larger than LCG or PCG. But Bob Thiel criticized their use of voting which was contrary to HWA's teaching of one man rule by divine right. Then I looked up HWA's writings and indeed he was most scornful of voting and ruled without any sort of democratic check and balance upon him. (I excused him acting this way because I assumed he was an
extraordinarily good man and therefore this meant it was good that it
was like that. I know better now.) Bob Thiel noted in his writings that LCG faithfully retained HWA's method of government and therefore was more loyal to HWA's example. This argument seemed persuasive to me.

Also Bob Thiel boasted that, although LCG did not even have half as many members as UCG, they were much more engaged in witnessing to the world about 'the truth' then UCG. And this proves that LCG is the true COG. This seemed persuasive to me.

I came to LCG through their TV show, Tomorrow's World, and PCG also had a TV show on TV. (Thankfully they went off the air because of the money PCG had to pay WCG for the copyright for HWA's writings.) I did not notice UCG doing any proclaiming of the word where I lived.

So I chose LCG. I chose to align myself with LCG and concluded that, yes, God is working through this one church, composed of about 7,000 members, more than any other group on planet Earth.

Than in late 2008 I had to admit that HWA was a false prophet and that God was not working through him or any of the Armstrongite churches. I had to renounce LCG and Armstrongism. Bob Thiel and LCG's long, convoluted explanations justifying their belief that God only works through them, their 'church history' I discovered was nonsense, practically all of it plagiarized (stolen!) from other sources, mainly Adventist.

I wish Bob Thiel concluded that Meredith was not worthy of his allegiance sooner. He would have saved me and many others a lot of trouble.

If I knew he was an independent leader as he is now I never would have taken him seriously. Any idiot can post whatever crazy thing he or she likes. At least now that he has decided to become independent he can't lure anyone into LCG, he tries to lure people to support Bob Thiel. I think it will be very difficult for him to attract and maintain members. His splinter group certainly won't be able to compete against the major COGs.

While with LCG he always boasted that LCG was more successful in spreading the word of Armstrongism than any other COG. It will be impossible for him to dent LCG's numbers or media presence. I don't say this out of any affection for LCG, but merely as a statement of fact. No doubt Bob Thiel will change his tune and say he is doing greater work per capita than any COG, but for those of us who recall what he said before in support of LCG his pompous words to support himself are but an offensive and polluting noise.

If You are new please read this

Hand in Hand for Syria

Keep Somalia's Remittances Open

I encourage readers to sign this petition from Oxfam calling upon the U.S. government to let the Somali diaspora continue to send remittance to their loved ones in Somalia.

Moves have been made to shut down such remittances from Somalis in America. Many Somalis need these remittances. The remittances to Somalia are larger than foreign aid contributions and are a lifeline to these people caught in trouble and turmoil.

It is true that HWA said that some Eastern European states would break away from Moscow's orbit and join the European Empire he said would arise at any moment. But he never talked of the Soviet Union collapsing. He did not teach that. Also he portrayed the rise of the European Empire to be far quicker then what has actually happened. In Mystery of the Ages Christ was supposed to return by 2005 at the most.

So assertions that the fall of the Berlin Wall somehow prove that HWA was right is just complete nonsense spread by people who, for whatever reason, are still in denial that HWA was a false prophet who merely talked out of his own "human reasoning".

Truth about Roderick C. Meredith

What sort of man is he? A man who could say things like this.

"Mr. Armstrong has reminded us again that we are to disfellowship any members who attend GTA's [Garner Ted Armstrong's] campaigns, church services or other meetings. Some of our weaker members apparently do not realize that this man is in direct rebellion against God and His government! We must not allow them, or ourselves, to rationalize about this matter, to try to "help the underdog," or in any other way lend support to one whose gross immorality, whose long standing "play acting" and hypocrisy, and whose direct insubordination to the Government of God has long been and is now a source of confusion and DIVISION among God's people. So, as per Mr. Armstrong's instruction, I charge and exhort every one of you faithful ministers of the living Christ to explain this in no uncertain terms to your members, to warn them about this cause of division and then to disfellowship any who consort with GTA or any of his fellows." (Roderick C. Meredith, Pastor's Report, May 21, 1979, pp. 1-2.)

David Robinson on Roderick C. Meredith

"During the ten years I have been an employee of the Worldwide Church, you have been poorly spoken of by most of the ministers and employees I have known. I vividly remember the absolute unbounded glee that was openly expressed by a good number of respected men in the church when you were first "shanghaied." [In 1972.] I could begin by naming names, which I am sure would shock you. I was one of the few who stood, where possible, for you. Your tenure as superintendent of ministers, as I believe the office was then called, was looked on as nightmarish. While you held office during the years of growth, most of those whom I know gave you very little credit for that growth. Almost everyone whom I know, whether they be former friends of yours, or continuing foes, recalls insensitive and terrible things you have done. Without exception, at least among my acquaintances, they all credit you with an unbridled lust for power and list you as one who is willing to pay the price of gaining that power, no matter what. I have, through many of the last few years, believed you had principles you would not violate. Many a man of experience in the church assured me of my error. Events have proven me wrong and them right. Mr. Armstrong has himself been widely quoted as saying of you that you were so righteous that you were so "righteous you were unrighteous." " (David Robinson, Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web, Chapter 16, p. 207.)

Of course it is impossible for me to personally verify these assertions but people deserve to know what this knowledgeable man had to say about him.